Black Rage: In Defense of a Mass Murderer

At rush hour on Dec. 7 last year, Colin Ferguson boarded New York's Long Island Rail Road. As the train headed for the suburbs, the Jamaican immigrant opened fired into a carload of 90 commuters with a 9-mm Ruger semiautomatic handgun. Six died; 19 were wounded. At the time of his arrest, Ferguson had in his pockets notes voicing hatred of whites, Asians and "Uncle Tom Negroes." He had a long history of angry run-ins with whites. In an earlier incident, he yelled at his perceived enemies, "Black rage will get you!" Now "black rage" may become the defense in his...